What is a “Towhee”?

Or … how this blog got its name.

“Towhee” is the name I gave to my very first RV travel trailer (I’m now on my second travel trailer).  Since this blog is mostly about my travels with the RV, then this blog is all about “Travels With Towhee”.  But .. why did I name my RV trailer “Towhee”?  Well, let me tell you.

First off, the name of this bird, Towhee, is pronounced “toe” (just like a toe on your foot) and “eee”.  Two syllables … toe-eee … with the accent on “toe”.

I love birds .. and a Towhee is a very nice bird, one species of which is found in the Pacific Northwest of the USA where I live.  Towhees live mostly on the ground, in shrubbery and thickets and piles of leaves and on the shore around the edges of wetlands.  They are not water birds.  And they don’t hardly ever fly at all either, except for short little bits.  They are ground-foragers, not commonly found in trees.  They even build their nests on the ground.  Certainly, just like Towhee the bird, any self-respecting RV is more comfortable right on the ground too, not swimming or floating on the water or flying around in the air.  Just like Towhee the bird, my RV trailer likes to keep her tires solidly on the ground!

(remember, it’s pronounced “toe” as in your big toe … and then “eee”)

I also like the play on words between the name of the bird “Towhee” and the fact that an RV being towed is the tow-ee (the one being towed).  The truck doing the towing is the tow-er.  So the trailer is the tow-ee, and the truck is the tow-er.  The two words sound just alike — Towhee and tow-ee.  Get it?

To top off this story perfectly, as soon as a friend of mine heard that I had named my RV “Towhee”, she found and purchased a life-sized stuffed Towhee from the National Audubon Society and gave her to me just before my first camping trip.  This jaunty little stuffed Towhee bird is an Eastern Towhee but she seems to feel right at home here in the Pacific Northwest perched on the dash of my truck or peeking out the door of the RV.  In fact, rather than be left behind, she has said that she would reluctantly agree to be packed in a suitcase if I really did insist on flying somewhere.  She even produces a recorded Towhee call when her tummy is squished.  I haven’t yet figured out how to change her battery when/if it dies.  Hopefully the battery she has now will last a long, long time.  This little stuffed Towhee is a great traveling companion no matter the mode of travel.  “Travels With Towhee” refers to her too, not just to the RV.

  • Read all about Ann (that’s me) here.
  • 2017 camping destinations here (with one photo from each destination).
  • 2018 camping destinations here (with one photo from each destination).
  • 2019 camping destinations here (with one photo from each destination).
  • 2020 camping destinations here (with one photo from each destination).
  • 2021 camping destinations here (with one photo from each destination).
  • 2022 camping destinations here (with one photo from each destination).
  • 2023 camping destinations here (with one photo from each destination).